New Instagram Updates This Week That Have Blown Our Minds!

Social media is evolving fast, and Instagram just dropped a wave of new updates that could completely change how we use the app. Whether you're a content creator, brand, or marketer, these changes are worth paying attention to. Here's everything you need to know:

🔁 Reposting Is Now a Thing

Instagram now allows you to repost any content, and it doesn't just show up on your profile. Reposts will also appear on your friends’ feeds, meaning your content can now reach their followers too. This is a major opportunity to optimise your content for shareability.

It means that instead of recommended posts, you are at least getting fed content that the community around you enjoys. It also helps give credit back to the original content creator.

This is essentially another way to collaborate. If a brand/account doesn't want to accept an official collaboration post, they now have the option to at least reshare it to their feed, still giving you the benefit of reaching their audience.

Nathan Jun Poekert on LinkedIn said that, already, one of his posts jumped from 12K to 50K views thanks to a single repost.

📊 Analytics Just Got Supercharged

Instagram analytics have levelled up, and in a big way, you can now:

• See the exact second people liked a reel.

• Track which carousel photo people engaged with the most.

• Identify which posts are actually converting views into followers.

Even better? Demographic insights have gone deeper, giving you more context to fine-tune your content strategy.

Images from Instagram

🗺️ Snap Maps 'Cough' We mean Friend Maps

Instagram has introduced a new location-sharing feature eerily similar to Snapchat’s Snap Map.

You can now:

• Share your live location with friends.

• View location-tagged content from people you follow.

  
  

Creepy or convenient? We’ll let you decide. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, has clarified that location sharing is initially off, and you need to enable it. If you decide to opt in, you can choose who you want to see it. When you post a location in your story, that story will appear on the map for 24 hours.

🎥 Instagram Live Now Has a Follower Requirement

Planning to go live on Instagram? Make sure you’ve hit 1,000 followers first. This new rule is likely aimed at improving content quality or maybe reducing spammy lives, but it's something to keep in mind if you're building from scratch.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 New Friends Tab in Reels

In the Reels tab, there’s now a Friends feed where you can see what your friends have liked, commented on and reels they've created. It’s a great way to stay socially in sync and discover content through your inner circle. Reposts will also be in here.

Instagram was becoming very much so a discovery platform; it is refreshing to see the friendship and community aspect come back into play more.

Instagram is doubling down on community, analytics, and discoverability, and we are here for it. These updates give creators and brands more tools to connect authentically. However, the question is, is Instagram trying too hard to be like every other platform with many of these features coming from their Snapchat or TikTok?

What do you think?

• They are being desperate
• I think these all make sense for Instagram